Smuggler Archive
Thread: Reading Between the Lines (Analysis of Devspeak)
DISCLAIMER: This by no means is levelled at JFreeman as an attack on him. His posting in DLC's thread is quite possibly the most open and informative post I have ever seen a Dev make in this forum, and I thank him for it. This is merely an observation of what he said, and what it actually means for us. Though I'm sure plenty of you have already figured this much out.
JFreeman wrote:
Ah, just to be clear: QA's not the hold-up. Sometimes we push features back that are "ready to be tested" because there are too many other features that are also ready to be tested. I'm just saying that's one of the sorts of things that can make it difficult to promise a precise date when things will be released. I'm not saying that is why the slicing changes aren't on live this very second.
As far as I know, there is no hold-up with slicing: it is proceeding along "on schedule" so far. Even so, we still can't provide any exact dates, because stuff happens.
Read: We had to give Jedi their animations that they whined about at Fanfest.
More broadly,the Smuggler revamphas gone from a SERIOUS and necessary FINISHING of a profession, to, just another "feature" that they're working on, to provide us with "Exciting New Content! (tm)" The fact that our "revamp" (most of which is either entirelyNOT what we asked for, or not ENTIRELY what we asked for) is no longer a revamp, but a series of "content" additions being added in a string of publishes that I'm sure will include more jedi fun, and maybe even a "new, exciting" backpack or something (sorry no wait that only comes in expansions...) is just a subtle kick in the groin. Just enough to sting.
Okay, think that first part was pessimistic?
We get the slicing "mini-game" (what happened to revamp, and will it live up to our other mini-game, Jawa Sanford & Son?) and it's kinda cool, or a huge let down. Either way, we've lost. The one thing we've always hated about our profession is the fact that we're a bunch of slicemonkies. Slicing is like a funnel, or focusing lens; all the incompetent, incomprehensible, jerkwad goons from the server are squeezed through it, into a concentrated goop that, even while we are currently getting fun stuff like negative slices,is still sending "hey u slice 4 me, come to nightister stonghol I pay u 500 credts" tells. Even if slicing is a blast, and because of its complexity we can charge enough to make a living on it, so much so that we cantolerate the total human waste we're slicing for,WHY (that's WHY with a w) is it the first thing we're getting? I mean, after all, what were we looking for out of the Smuggler Revamp? Two things. SMUGGLING, and combat proficiency (at least enough to escape the player bh's we were sure to have after us). Well, the CU took care of the combat stuff (sort of, afterall, we're a "2-3" and they've admitted it, with no plans of fixing it), but instead of getting that Smuggling thing, we get to slice different!
Third part same as the first a little bit more bitter, and... well, it's bitter.
THIRD PART! YAY! So here we come to my paranoid take on what COULD happen as a result of their skullduggery.
- We got our combat. better than it used to be, but so's everyone else, and we're still gimped. We are not the ubar crowd control gods we were made out to be. But hey, it's only PART of the whole right?
- We're getting our slicing. Wow that description sounds realllllly cool! Wait, you made it simpler? Okay well-- HEYYYYYY.... all you did was add a picture of red and blue wires (still on a wooden staff) and now we have to add 4 different tools made with asteroid resources to guarantee a slice! (okay, this is an exaggeration I'm sure) well, allright, but at least the smuggling part is still coming
- HEY! I thought you said there wa a difference between Smuggling and smuggling! there's no difference! Hey! Hey wait! I'm talking to you! Don't walk away! This is serious! Hey!
And so ends our hosing.
The great thing about the system the Devs chose for giving us "all that we asked for" is that it's gradual. One tiny piece at a time. So by the time it's all finished and implemented, they can say "We've working on this for TWO YEARS NOW! We can't go back and start over just yet. There are other more pressing matters. You know Chef's cry too!!"
/exhale
Okay. Long, yes. Ranty, yes. Paranoid, yes. The shining light of truth? jury's still out on that one.
Again, all apologies to JFreeman, I don't hold you personally responsible nor do I intend any harm to you by means of this post.
/sigh wish it wasn't so early.
And I can't stress ENOUGH how much I appreciate JF posting here. And I'm glad to hear Slicing is in the can.
But it doesn't change the fact that the post reinforced my greatest concerns. We STILL don't know when our stuff is coming, we STILL don't know WHAT our stuff is going to be, we STILL don't registers on the Dev's scale of important things.
When JF said, when a Dev finishes something and hands it in, it's out of his hands, he's talking about the guys who literally wrote the code, who literally designed the specific engine in question. There's still "Devs" for lack of a better word, that can decide what gets to Live before what. So it goes to QA, and they say, we don't have time to test this, let's test this other stuff first? UM, that shows a total lack of priorities. Just whatever's easiest? Not the thing that's been waiting 2 years?
And I'm not saying that the slicing thing won't be in Publish 18. I'm not saying Publish 18 won't be out on time. I'm still hopeful it will be.
I'm saying the fact that smuggler-related work takes NO priority over anything else, that if someone in SOE was too busy with making sure Bantha Poodoo animated properly, we would be delayed, even for 2 hours, is reprehensible.
Dangit.
Ragnaat wrote:
please don't go down this route keck. I know you have nothing against JF, but it just doesn't serve us well to overanalyze otherwise helpful posts like this
No offense Ragnat, but wasn't JFreeman the one who brought us Smuggler vs smuggler?
Either way, I know what Keck is saying. The point of it all is that WE are the ones who get pushed for other priorities, not the other way around, and nothing in the last 2 years gives us reason to believe anything else.
What's even funnier is that I didn't even see a Friday Feature yesterday after that comment.
Edit: OK, so there was a Friday Feature, just looked it up. I guess I missed it since it was so pointless and inconsequential.
Message Edited by SmugglinZane on 06-11-2005 10:08 AM
My own biggest concern isn't one of resources, but of interface and time. A lot of hype surrounds this new "game" and, well, when I've faced with slicing 3 suits of armor for someone that might not be the best time to have to play a "game" 25-30 times. My secondary concern, if they do go down the stat mod route and not the % to weapon stat route is over the usefulness of all the available mods and our ability or inability to choose.
Your concerns above are just as valid, as are the other points you've made, I just don't see a reason to pick apart JF's post to make them, and I think doing so may have the unitended consequence of being seen by some on the staff as an "i told you so" in terms of not posting anything at all around here.
Remember when all of the early prophets analyzed the dev posts on unlocking Jedi? Visit every planet. Kill one of every creature. Build a house. Become high ranked in the GCW. Do quests from every NPC. In the end, what was it? 100% grinding professions! Those beautiful dev posts that created a mysterious method of becoming a Jedi were a veil that apparently 5 minutes of thought were put in to the process. And if you don't do it right the first time, you have to do it again, so the revamp made all the other professions wait (again).
Unfortunately, the development heads that determine the focus of the developers aren't in to the Smuggler love.
Most Smugglers have been riding a rollercoaster of discontent for over a year as we hear of revamps, then delayed revamps, then missing developers, then "secret" dev teams that are actually working on Kashyyyk, then a revamp proposal... Which it turns out isn't really a "revamp", but some "smuggler stuff in upcoming patches", followed by zilch as we hit refresh every Friday to see another feature on "The Galaxy's Hairstyles!" or "Dantooine: Foliage Revamp!". I guess they figure we're used to it, so park 'em for another month.
I am happy about TKMs getting their animations, though. I am not a TKM any longer, but, hey.
testify4; "I guess they figure we're used to it, so park 'em for another month. "
Precisely.
For two years ignoring us has worked out just fine for SOE. Why change it if it isn't broken?
What exactly are their consequences for treating us the way they do? Apparently none. Most of us are still around paying them regularly, I bet our attrition rate isn't all that much higher than any other profession.